iii) Consultations: 10 external
reviewers consulted. Staff from the National Commission for the
Protection of Wildlife (NCWP) and other national institutions involved
in the management of the
site.

iv) Field Visit: Dr. A. Jeudy de
Grissac, November / December, 2003.

2. SUMMARY OF NATURAL VALUES

The nominated site covers an area
of 58,100ha, including 52,900ha of marine areas and 5,200ha of land.
The Hawar Islands are an archipelago of 36 small desert islands. Hawar
is the largest island covering around 4,100ha and is surrounded by the
shallow waters of the Gulf of Salwah. The nominated area is located
26km southeast of the
main island of Bahrain and extends to the international maritime
boarder
with Qatar. The islands are either flat (beach rock or fossil reefs
covered
by sand or gravel) of an altitude close to sea level or emerging
remnants
of limestone and sandstone formations (up to 28m for Hawar and 14m for
other
islands). Hawar Island is an association of both types. On land, coasts
are
fringed with a heavy cover of halophytes that, with the exception of
patches
of thorn brush, constitutes the predominant vegetation of the islands.
The
marine environment constitutes an extensive area of shallow waters
(most
of the site is less than 6m depth with an average of 2m and a maximum
of
20m, which also represents the maximum fishing depth for cormorants).
As
a result of the shallow waters and arid climate, the salinity is very
high,
up to 52 parts per thousand in open waters and higher in enclosed
lagoons
or mudflats (sabkhas). With a tide reaching 1.5m, the flat islands can
be
partly flooded during storms. The currents are locally very strong and
usually
from north to south. Due to the shallow waters, the tide and the
dominant
winds, long sand spits occur to the south of some islands as well as
channels
with overhangs and caves in the seagrass beds. The marine ecosystem is
mainly
composed of extensive, dense and undisturbed seagrass beds covering
different
types of substrate (sandy, muddy or rocky). Seagrass beds are present
off
the coast of Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and, to a lesser
extent,
the southern coast of Saudi Arabia. Within the nominated site the
structure
constituted by the roots of phanerogams is more than two meters thick
and
could have been built over the past two or three centuries. Two
relatively
isolated populations of green turtles and dugongs are dependent on the
seagrass
beds. Up to 200 dugongs have been recorded in the area and 400 to 500
individuals are said to exist locally in three to four herds, although
this is yet to be confirmed by systematic research. Hawksbill,
leatherback and loggerhead turtles are also reported for the nominated
site. Most marine species, however, are not detailed in the nomination
document. Annually, more than 200,000 breeding
or migrating waterfowl and wintering raptors occur on the islands. Of
the
192 species of birds recorded in Bahrain, 132 are present on the Hawar
Islands.
Prominent among these are Socotra cormorant with over 20% of the global
population
(100,000 to 150,000) breeding in the site, and the western reef heron
with
10% of the regional population (around 325 pairs) breeding on the
islands.
Other important species present in the nominated site are osprey (with
20%
of the world population breeding in the site), sooty falcon, lesser
kestrel
and flamingo. In relation to mammals there is a population of 300 reem
or
sand gazelles, possibly descended from a native population of which 30
were
seen in 1976. Arabian Oryx and Nubian Ibex have been introduced in the
islands.

3. COMPARISON WITH OTHER AREAS
There are currently (2003) 15 sites inscribed on the World Heritage
List primarily for their marine values; 7 of them include island
ecosystems.
There are another 26 sites inscribed on the World Heritage List which
also
include marine areas, 18 of which include island ecosystems. The
nominated
site is located in the Anatolian-Iranian Desert Biogeographical
Province
(Udvardy 1975) where no marine site has been inscribed in the World
Heritage
List. The key ecosystem of this site is the extensive seagrass bed, an
important ecosystem for maintaining marine processes and productivity.
However, this ecosystem extends off the coast of Bahrain, Qatar, the
United Arab Emirates and, to a lesser extent, the southern coast of
Saudi Arabia. There are other sites inscribed on the World Heritage
List, such as Belize Barrier Reef
Reserve System (Belize); Cape Girolata, Cape Porto, Scandola Nature
Reserve,
and the Piana Caanches in Corsica (France); and Ibiza, Biodiversity and
Culture
(Spain), just to mention few examples, with extensive seagrass beds. In
the
case of Ibiza, the reef formed by the seagrass bed structure is 4
meters
high, the highest reef reported world-wide of this origin (San
Félix,
1998). This is twice as high as the reef structure reported in the
nominated
site. In addition, these above-mentioned World Heritage sites are
richer
in relation to marine biodiversity than the Hawar Islands, and include
coral
reefs, which are almost negligible in the nominated site. The
nomination
gives emphasis to the significance of the site due to the presence of
an
important population of dugongs, considered the second largest
worldwide.
However, this population is not exclusively present in the nominated
site
as they move along the waters of the Gulf of Salwah. There is also no
scientific
evidence that dugongs are breeding in Bahrain waters. In addition, it
is
important to note that the largest population of dugongs under
effective
protection occurs in Shark Bay World Heritage site, Western Australia,
with
a population of over 10,000 dugongs which represents approximately 13%
of
the world population.

In the Middle East region there are other sites of similar
characteristics such as the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen), declared a
Biosphere Reserve in
2003, and the Jubail Wildlife Sanctuary (Saudi Arabia) which contains
important seagrass habitats and coral species. Jubail is also a key
bird wintering
site and is the nesting site for hundreds of thousands of terns. Jubail
is
also the largest green and hawksbill turtle rookery in the Gulf, from
which
turtles migrate to Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. The site is
also
comparable and shares similar ecological characteristics with the
Marawah
Archipelago of the United Arab Emirates, almost ten times larger than
the
nominated site (556,100ha) which is classified as a Managed Resources
Marine
Protected Area (Category VI, IUCN).

4. INTEGRITY
4.1. Ownership and Legal Status
The nominated site is 97% state owned. The remaining 3% is owned by a
consortium of Government shareholders. All the other islands are state
owned. The marine area around the islands was declared as a Wildlife
Sanctuary in 1995 (Royal Decree N° 2/95) and the islands were
established as a protected area
in 1996 (Edict N° 16/96). In 1997 the site was declared as a Ramsar
site under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which was ratified at the
national level by Royal Decree N° 3/97.

4.2. Boundaries
The boundaries of the site are adequate to protect the terrestrial
environments associated to the islands but, according to a number of
reviewers, not well designed to offer effective protection to key
marine species occurring in the area, such as the dugongs and sea
turtles
population.

4.3. Management
Additional information provided by the State Party in February 2004 in
response to questions from IUCN, noted that the Governor of the
Southern
region of Bahrain (which includes Hawar Islands) has established a
“Public
Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and
Wildlife”
with the governor being appointed as the head of this commission (with
a
rank equal to a Minister). This newly established commission is the
single
authority responsible for the management of the nominated site.
However,
while this is a positive step, the information provided by the State
Party
notes that the commission is under funded to adequately meet its
objectives,
including those associated to the protection and management of the
nominated
site. At the local level, there is no staff, infrastructure or
equipment
for managing the site. Patrolling at sea is part of the normal
activities
of the Coast Guards. The military troops (Bahrain Defence Forces) are
responsible
for the local security and provide support for surveys or coastal
cleaning.
However, the “Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources,
Environment and Wildlife” has submitted to the Ministry of Finance and
National
Economy and to the Civil Service Bureau a proposal to fulfil the
staffing
and financial requirements needed for the effective management of the
site,
including for the establishment of a Marine and Fisheries Control,
Protection
and Monitoring Unit in the islands that will take over the
responsibilities
currently fulfilled by the National Coastguard. This proposal is yet to
be approved. Clarification has also been provided by the State Party in
relation to the management category applied to the nominated site,
which
was unclear in the nomination. At present the “Public Commission for
the
Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife” is proposing
to
the National Assembly that the site should be categorised as a National
Park
(Category II, IUCN, 1994). However, this proposal needs to be discussed
and
approved at different levels and most probably it would need to be
supported
by a national law. Thus its approval would take time and it may not
occur
before the end of 2004. On the other hand, progress has been achieved
in
relation to the adoption of the draft management plan for the site that
was
submitted as part of the nomination. The “Public Commission for the
Protection
of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife” has officially adopted,
based
on the provisions under the Legislative Decree No. 21 on the Protection
of
the Environment, this management plan as the key tool for protecting
and
managing the nominated site. While this is a positive step that has
already
generated additional support from the National Coastguard to the
protection
of the site, the full implementation of the management plan requires
additional
human and financial resources and the implementation of a targeted
capacity
building programme to prepare field staff.

4.4. Human use of the area
On land, there is no development on the islands except for Hawar Island
where the infrastructure includes military facilities (fenced), a coast
guard position, housing for administrative staff (unoccupied) and a
resort compound (fenced) including hotel and chalets.Military presence
and activities have been reduced in the past years (from 5000 to 2000
troops) and cleaning of military ranges and infrastructure conducted.
The hotel facilities include a hotel and some chalets. Following the
dredging of a channel to access the hotel, the building of artificial
islands in front of the hotel was started but has been stopped due to
the lack of authorisation. However, equipment and materials have not
yet been removed. The number of visitors is estimated at around 20,000
per year, mainly from Bahrain. The hotel has its own boat for
transportation and the movements of visitors are restricted to the
resort. The road network is limited and access to tracks is restricted
to authorised vehicles only. The resort management has introduced
numerous exotic species of plants without control. A power plant and a
desalination plant are available but not sufficient to accept the
growing demand for visitation. There is no
real management of the liquid waste (directly discharged into the sea)
or
of the solid waste (open-fill pit). The coastal areas receive floating
foam
and plastics brought by currents and associated to coastal activities
as
well as maritime traffic. There are also reports of oil pollution
associated to maritime traffic around the islands. Fishing activities
have been forbidden in most of the proposed protected area by the local
authority and this is enforced by the Coast Guards and the Bahrain
Defence Forces that are patrolling the area regularly. Fisheries are
now restricted to some coastal traps along the coast of Hawar for local
needs. Trawling for shrimps exists to the north but outside the
protected area boundaries. However, in the opinion of some reviewers
this is disrupting the movement of dugongs and other key marine
species. Traditional fishing or egg collection from locals or
foreigners (mainly
from Qatar) have been stopped by the military presence on both sides of
the
border.In addition to plant species, several species of fauna have been
introduced
to Hawar Island,in particular Addax, Arabian Oryx, and Nubian Ibex.
These
introductions have been implemented as part of a wildlife restocking
plan.
These species are now competing with the native reem gazelle. There are
no
goats but hares, rats and cats have also been introduced on this island
and
could threaten bird populations if transported unintentionally to other
islands.

Additional information received by IUCN from the State Party (February
2004) notes that the nominated site is part of the Exploration Block
No.
6 defined by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and currently
assigned
to Petronas Carigali (Malaysia) for exploration.Petronas has already
conducted
a seismic survey (non intrusive, i.e. not using explosives) and drilled
one deep well close to the northern edge of the nominated site. A
second
well is planned for the second half of 2004 or early in 2005. While the
information provided by the State Party emphasises the commitment of
Petronas
to apply international petroleum industry standards for environmental
protection
and safety, no information was provided on whether or not the site will
be
subject to exploitation if exploration confirms the presence of
economically
viable hydrocarbon reserves. This is a key issue of concern due to
potential
impacts to the integrity of the site.

4.5 Other threats
A number of reviewers noted that there are a number of threats that
could affect the future integrity of the site. These are:.
° Climate change and related sea level rise could
have an impact on at least six of the islands with an altitude of less
than one meter.
° Hawar, including a Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA) of tourism development.
° Dredging channels in the waters of the
nominated site for routing vessels and the consequences on the water
quality, disturbance to dugongs and other vulnerable marine species and
impacts on the seagrass communities.
° Impacts associated to land-based sources of
pollution from Qatar, which is only 2km away from the nominated site.

5. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
ICOMOS has reviewed the nomination document and has noted that it
provides information on the cultural attributes of the islands which
appear to include what could be significant archaeological remains. A
small number of pre-historic sites have been identified together with
the remains of villages, mosques, graveyards and several cisterns and
water collecting systems. ICOMOS therefore recommends that the
significance of these remains should be assessed in
order to determine and implement appropriate conservation measures and
to
propose how they should be considered in the overall management of the
site.

6. APPLICATION OF CRITERIA / STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The site has been nominated under natural criteria (ii) and (iv).
Criterion (ii): Ecological processes
The nominated site contains an extensive seagrass bed, an important
ecosystem for maintaining marine processes and productivity. However,
this ecosystem extends along the coast of Bahrain, Qatar, the United
Arab Emirates and,
to a lesser extent, the southern coast of Saudi Arabia. The geological
processes associated with the evolution and dynamics of
these islands are common to many marine areas in the Arab region and
worldwide and it is better reflected in other sites already included on
the World
Heritage List under this criterion. IUCN considers that the nominated
site
does not meet this criterion.

Criterion (iv): Biodiversity and threatened species
The nominated site contains the second largest population of dugongs in
the world and an important percentage of the world’s breeding
population of
the Socotra Cormorant. However, the survival of the population of
dugongs is not entirely depending on the protection offered by the
nominated site as they move along the waters of the Gulf of Salwah. In
addition, there are other protected areas in the region and worldwide
with greater biodiversity including globally important populations of
sea birds. IUCN considers that the nominated site does not meet this
criterion.

The nominated site, as discussed in Section 4, does not meet the
conditions of integrity as required under the Operational Guidelines of
the Convention.

7. RECOMMENDATION
IUCN recommends the World Heritage Committee not to inscribe Hawar
Islands on the World Heritage List. IUCN would also like to recommend
to the Committee to encourage the States Parties of Bahrain, Qatar, the
United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to consider, if they wish to do
so, the possibility of
preparing a marine transboundary nomination covering, but not limited
to,
the Gulf of Salwah.